I Thought It Would Be Funny

It's fun! The rules are complex without being so byzantine as to feel clunky, they really lean into supporting a more cinematic experience over a streamlined tournament style game. We didn't get into challenges, and we beefed volley shots on charges by... forgetting... to do... them... and I'm sure we made other mistakes, but the game was still very fun.

Light vehicles are tankier than you'd think! Rhinos having 5 hull points and AV 12 up front, and my Araknae cannons having AV 12 all around with a 5++ invulnerable save and 5 hull points, and the kharybdis drop pod also having AC 12 all around and 5 hull points, kept them in the game longer than expected given the weight of fire getting thrown around.

Araknae quad cannons dish out a RIDICULOUS amount of credible mid-strength fire. I mostly shot it at terminators and the kharybdis drop pod (and did manage to pop the drop pod full of tartaros terminators, all of whom unfortunately made their emergency disembark without difficulty and then weathered the explosion unharmed) which is not it's ideal target, but he didn't bring any rhinos or tactical marines so I made the best of things, and they did pretty well despite trying to punch above their weight.

Line 2 is very strong, allowing my single surviving tactical sergeant to out-score the 2 terminators he was fighting on an objective.

Objectives in general are kinda the be-all and end-all of the standard missions. I'd be intrigued to see variant missions for all points levels, but if you're playing a standard mission, ignoring the objectives and going after your weaker opponent does not work out well for you. As my opponent found out, losing the game with 3 points to my 12 despite my own units getting pretty badly mauled and not making too much of an accounting in return.

Neither my Moritat (he got sliced to ribbons by tartaros terminators with lightning claws piling out of a kharybdis drop pod, RIP) nor my Praetor (she just never got attacked, hanging out with a tactical squad on an objective the whole game) did much all game, so I still look forward to seeing what the Moritat can do in the shooting phase and a Praetor with a paragon blade can do in the fight phase.

Tactical squads with bolters are actually really strong in the shooting phase, especially if they hold still, because bolters have Heavy (FP) which means they get 3 shots each at 24". They're s4 ap4 so they're not going to do a whole helluva lot against *terminators*, but against enemy tacticals or despoilers or the like, they'll account well for themselves I believe.

Chain bayonets may or may not be worthwhile if you're fighting other tactical squads, but they are about as effective as harsh language against tartaros terminators, as you might expect.

I actually remembered to use my reaction to shoot the kharybdis when it came in, which put some damage on it and allowed me to shoot it down two turns later. In the future hopefully I will be better about remembering to use my reaction for overwatch or whatever it's called; might have taken out a terminator or two as they charged my Moritat if I had. Oh, well.

I have survived turn one! Managed to kill a single cataphractii terminator and haven't lost anyone yet, though one of my araknae cannons got shot down to a single hull point by a lucky reaper automation shot.

I hope my little blue mans do not underperform. That all their glory and ignominity is on me, and not the dice. Well, most of it. Swingy dice can make for hilarious moments for good and ill.

I hope people like them, their paint jobs, the little customization I've done.

Not enough points to field my Saturnine Praetor and his jump pack version isn't even finished building, so Centurion Phaedra Tycho is getting a brevet promotion to Praetor for today's game. Which is also good; anyone who beefs with her being a girl is not someone I want to play toys with.

Amusingly my opponent also plays Ultramarines, so it is gonna be a ridiculous friendly fire match. I assume the Alpha Legion misled the commanders that the other was a traitor or some such.

This wouldn't be a problem if I'd built a small Word Bearers force for just such occasions. Alas. Maybe in the future.

"LE GRILLE? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!"

Made it in a bit over four.

This wall art is sending me into a chortling fit though.

It's lovely out here, and I could probably make it work if we lived anywhere near Halifax, but I do love my relatively decent transit system and walkable neighborhood in Toronto.